2 shot, 3 others injured in shooting at Los Angeles middle school

Parents wait for news of students at the Belmont High School in Los Angeles Thursday. Two students were shot and wounded, one critically, inside a Los Angeles middle school classroom Thursday morning and police arrested a female student suspect, authorities said.
Damian Dovarganes — Associated Press

Los Angeles >> Two students were shot, one critically, and three other people were injured in a classroom shooting Thursday at Salvador Castro Middle School in the Westlake District of Los Angeles.

A 12-year-old girl was detained in connection with the shooting as police homed in on how the gun was obtained and got on campus.

“As a parent, this is everyone’s worst nightmare,” said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Robert Arcos as police unfolded what happened.

About 8:55 a.m., police received a report of shots fired in the 1500 block of West 2nd Street, according to Officer Drake Madison of the LAPD.

Authorities converged on the school, ultimately locking it down.

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head and transported to a local trauma center in critical condition, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott.

The second gunshot victim was a 15-year-old girl who was shot in the wrist and is in stable condition, Scott said.

The other injured victims were an 11-year-old boy, 12-year-old girl and 30-year-old woman, all of whom sustained “minor abrasion injuries” and were not hospitalized, LAFD officials said.

All were expected to recover, officials said.

Officers took one person into custody, later identified as a female student at the school, and recovered a weapon at the scene. The student was later reported to be 12 years old, officials said.

The middle school and Belmont High School, which shares the campus, were placed on lockdown as police search the school, though authorities say there were “no outstanding suspects.”

Aerial news footage from the scene showed officers moving room-to-room on the campus and leading some students out of classrooms with their hands behind their backs.

It was unclear what prompted the gunfire or how the gun wound up on the campus. LAPD Deputy Chief Robert Arcos said “it is still too early” to understand a motive for the shooting or how the student obtained a weapon.

As news of the incident spread, worried parents flocked to the campus, eager to reunite with their children. LASPD officials urged parents to monitor alerts from the school district for more information.

L.A. School Police Department Chief Steve Zipperman said authorities’ initial focus will be caring for students who may have witnessed the shooting.

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“We know this is a very traumatic incident for all the children involved, particularly inside that classroom,” he said. “As we continue to move forward with this, I want everyone to have a clear understanding that we will attend to the needs of these students who witnessed this very carefully, with the understanding this is very traumatic.”

The LAPD is leading the investigation, with assistance from L.A. school police, according to Zipperman.

Mayor Eric Garcetti told ABC7 at the scene it was unclear if the shooting was intentional or accidental.

“We’re unclear whether a gun went off or if it was an intentional shooting,” he said. “Luckily there are no fatalities or serious injuries.”

He said he believes the most seriously injured student was “grazed” in the head by a bullet.

“We need to find out how did that gun get into the school,” Garcetti told the station, but stressed that the mental well-being of other students on campus is being addressed.

In an 11 a.m. press conference, Zipperman said the school day would continue despite the classroom shooting.

Los Angeles Unified School District Interim Superintendent Vivian Ekchian released a statement in response to the shooting, saying the district’s “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims, their families, and all the students and staff on campus.

“The school has been declared safe, and we are communicating with parents of students at Castro Middle School, as well as neighboring campuses,” Ekchian said, adding that LAUSD would provide “appropriate supports to those who may be impacted by the incident.”

Zipperman expressed frustration, however, at the ability of a student to obtain a weapon.

“We do not know yet … how a young person on this campus ended having the ability to have access to a firearm and bring it onto a campus,” the chief said. “Or for that matter, any young person having access to a weapon and bringing it anywhere. We have laws that mandate that parents who ownguns, any adult who owns guns, any gun owner has an obligation to ensure that gun is locked inside a home. … The majority of the weapons that our young people get their hands on today is the result of a weapon they get at home or from a family members’ home.

“… I assure you if we find out it came from an adult from a home, the proper prosecutorial procedures will occur,” Zipperman said.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer echoed that frustration, and said Thursday’s shooting should be a “call to action” for gun owners to ensure weapons are kept away from children.

“Throughout our city, you have seen our office again and again prosecute adults when children get access to guns that haven’t been safely stored, including times when children bring a gun to school or to another public location,” Feuer said. “There is no reason for that ever to happen.

This is a very important call to action to every adult in our community who has a gun. You must store it safely and keep it out of access for any child to reach. It could result in a tragedy. It could result in a suicide or a homicide or another situation which could easily have been prevented by responsibly, safely storing weapons.”